Authorities in hot pursuit of suspected vehicle thieves

Law enforcement officers spent most of Tuesday scouring the Crescent City area on the heels of at least five suspects allegedly involved in the theft of six vehicles from Brookings and Harbor this month.

Brookings and Crescent City police were working with sheriffs officers from Curry and Del Norte counties Tuesday evening to apprehend “about five people,” possibly in connection with the theft of four vehicles in early September and another two in the middle of the month, Dotson said.

Two vehicles were stolen the first week of September, including a 1984 Toyota pickup truck stolen Sept. 3 and found submerged in the Smith River, and a 2008 Jeep Wrangler stolen Sept. 1 and recently recovered in Klamath, Calif.

Two other vehicles were stolen that same week in Harbor – including one taken literally feet in front of its owner at Gold Beach Lumber Aug. 31. The other was stolen from a residence about six miles up the Winchuck River earlier that morning.

Two other vehicles – a Pontiac TransAm and a Toyota Celica – were also stolen Sept. 19 in Brookings, Dotson said. The TransAm has been recovered in Crescent City, although details were unavailable as officers working the case were attempting to apprehend the suspects in California as of the Pilot’s deadline.

Police suspect all the thefts were conducted by the same group of people, who were identified by eyewitness accounts, Dotson said.